442. Companion

"A of people crave to have children. But, you pine for having an elderly person at home!" said Prabhakar.

"My dad had passed away, many years back. My mom passed away, a few years after our marriage. Your parents had also passed away, long time back. By God's grace, we are blessed with a baby boy. You have a good job. We don't have anything to complain. But we have been coming across problems, small and big, every now and then. We have a tough time, trying to overcome these problems. If we have an elderly person at home, they will help us overcome these problems, by giving us appropriate advice. Their guidance will also be helpful to us, in bringing up our child. That's why I feel that if we have an elderly person at home, it will be better for us" said his wife Shyamala.

"If looking after the child is difficult for you, we can employ a nanny."

"That is not what I want. I only want to have an elderly person at home, to guide us. When I see the presence of elderly people in some families, I feel sorry that we don't have such a support for us, in our family."

"I am surprised to hear what you say. Many families consider elderly people a burden. Many a couple get their parents admitted in old age homes, choosing to have only their children live with them."

"It is true. I think they don't realize the value of elderly people."

"I appreciate your craving to have an elderly person in our home, but we can't adopt an elderly person, the way we can adopt a child!" said Prabhakar.

"Yes. I understand that" said Shyamala.

After two days, Prabhakar told Shyamala: "I have been thinking about what you said. I also feel that having an elderly person will be good for us. If we have any problem, they will help us to resolve it."

"Not only that. If we have the guidance of an elderly person, we can avoid making mistakes and thereby prevent problems arising from such mistakes" said Shyamala.

"My friend Sekar is residing in the United States. He has settled there. He won't come back to India, except occasionally, for brief periods. His father is living here, alone. He is not interested in visiting the United States. He is a noble person. He is highly educated and wise. I have interacted with him several times. He is a lovable person. Let us go to his house and meet him. If you like him, we can request him to come and stay with us. If he and Sekar agree to the arrangement, we will have him in our house. He will be a companion and a guide, we have been looking for. What do you say?" 

"I am excited. I am sure I will like him. If he and your friend agree to our request, I will consider ourselves blessed" said Shyamala, with enthusiasm. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 45
Association With Great Men

Verse 442 (in Tamil):

uRRa nOy nOkki uRAmai muRkAkkum
peRRiyArp pENik koLal.

Meaning:

Nurture the relationship of those who can remove existing distress and help us guard against problems arising in future.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thuNai' by the same author.)

Verse 443
Verse 441